Fiji emergency laws lifted

Fiji’s interim administration has lifted emergency laws which had been in force since the military takeover last December, with Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, saying that it followed a thorough assessment of the national security situation after consulting the military, police and the Home Affairs Ministry, who had agreed not to extend the Public Emergency Regulation.

The report in the Fiji Times says that the lifting of the emergency provisions is also part of an undertaking by the interim regime to the European Union to do so by the end of May, with Fiji set to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in aid if it reneged on the promises made in Brussels in March.

Commodore Bainimarama said the emergency regulations had been in place to provide safety and security for the people and to protect property, but he stressed the Public Order Act would be strictly enforced and that it means all investigations into inciting violence and disobedience of law will now return to the police.

The tourism industry welcomed the the news, with Fiji Visitor’s Bureau chief executive Bill Gavoka saying, “I speak for all involved in tourism to say we are very happy with the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations and we believe this will help in the softening of travel advisories from source markets around the world resulting in an increase in tourist arrivals.”

He added that the latest development would greatly assist the efforts under way to return Fiji to the position it enjoyed before December 5 and with huge marketing campaigns about to be launched in New Zealand and Australia over the next few days, the relaxing of travel advisories for Fiji would strengthen the country’s appeal as a safe and popular destination.

But while Mr Gavoka said the lifting of the regulations would help the tourism industry, he said the discounts of as low as 50% at hotels and resorts around the country would continue for some time because Fiji still had a lot of catching up to do in terms of restoring the industry to its former position in the global tourism market.

The Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association also welcomed the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations, with Association President Dixon Seeto saying they hoped to see the reflection of the lifting of the Emergency Regulations in the travel advisories and they were hopeful that the various high commissions and embassies based in Fiji would try to ensure that security concerns raised in their advisories were reduced.

Mr Seeto said the industry wanted to thank the Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and the other stakeholders, including Cabinet, for lifting the Emergency Regulations.

Fiji-Australia Business Council president Caz Tebbutt Dennis described the lifting of the Act as a significant and positive step, saying it would possibly help in the reviewing of the travel advisories which could bring tourists back into the country with tourism the backbone of the economy this having a flow on effect for the economy and ultimately be good for all businesses.

Tourism industry stakeholders had been concerned for some time about the slide in the number of tourists arriving and they were also worried about the downturn in business because of the travel advisories by countries such as Australia and New Zealand, with many hotels and resorts laying off workers or forcing them to work reduced hours or take pay cuts as cost-cutting measures.

Report by The Mole